As per the norm, my lunch
hour coincided with CBC Crosstalk.
The guest today was comedian,
turned historian, St. John’s
native Greg Malone. The topic was his new book and the grand conspiracy, that
he is milking, that resulted in Newfoundland
becoming the bookend for the Canadian federation.
“Don’t tell the
Newfoundlanders” goes where a few author’s have gone before. Notably academic Dr.
John Fitzgerald’s Newfoundland at the
Crossroads Documents on Confederation with Canada
and Historian/politician Gene Long’s Suspended
State - Newfoundland Before Canada.
I thought, hoped, anticipated
that Malone had found a silver bullet – proof positive of the conspiracy
preached to us since the days of Peter Cashin, that the vote was rigged.
Certainly, there can be no
doubt that England and Canada
had a desired result. Volumes of diplomatic letters, private correspondence,
official and unofficial correspondence has become available over the last ten
years.
In retrospect, the frankness
of some of the letters between policy mandarins, businesses leaders, religious
leaders and leading citizens of the U.K, the United
States, Canada
and Newfoundland
is insightful.
The discussions take place in
the private medium of the time – letter writing. As a bit of romantic type, the
tone, style and artistry of these notes appeal to me on both an intellectual and
emotional level. Many of these letters are the modern equivalent of private
e-mail or government briefing notes.
Probably the most informative
of the three aforementioned texts is Newfoundland
at the Crossroads Documents on Confederation with Canada. It is well researched, well
written and unpretesive. The chronological evolution of England’s Newfoundland
problem is provided with an academic sophistication that is lacking in the
romantic conspirators texts.
There can no doubt that the UK influenced
the outcome of the 1948 referenda. They did not cook the books or salt the ballot
boxes. They were subtle, with the notable exception of ensuring Confederation
was placed on the ballot.
I remain convinced that the
pig farmer socialist from Gambo who emerged as the leading confederate was
undesirable to the so called conspirators. He was uncouth, not cut from the proper cloth. An undereducated peasant.
However without Smallwood,
and the team of journalists and dedicated socio-economic pioneers who fought the established order the result would have been quite different.
These zealots of change had not
forgotten why and how the province was stripped of its constitutional democracy;
Who had not forgotten the abject poverty associated with the mismanagement of
the colony’s scarce resources; Who had not forgotten the corrupt politics of
the pre-1933 period; Who had not forgotten the diseases that killed a
generation of young men and women; Who reminded the public of all they had to
look forward with a return to Responsible Government as it was.
The yearning for the old
country was defeated in a vote, in which Newfoundlander’s participated in. The decision
was not made in White Hall, at Government House or in the Langelvin Block. It
was made right here.
There
is not a shred of new insight, there is nothing but a treatise that attempts to
piece together popular myths to create a romantic fable in time for Christmas sales.
Truly,
there is nothing new to read here.
2 comments:
Despite all that I can't find a copy of the book for sale at any book seller in St. John's. I believe the first printing completely sold out. I did manage to read the preview on my Kobo and it has left me wanting to read more.
Did you check the price club? If you can I would suggest you read the three books I mentioned and one other called "more than a poor minority"
You can borrow mine.
Chris you getting any calls regarding maintenance issues and school councils?
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